Tag: Rashad Evans

Edson Barboza‘s spinning heel-kick knockout of Terry Etim at UFC 142 wasn’t just an instant-classic because of the technique itself — it was also unforgettable because of the devastating effect it had on Etim, who stiffened up and toppled straight to the mat in slow motion like a felled spruce. The “falling tree” knockout is a rare, brutal moment in combat sports that always gets a rise out of fans. Here are nine of our favorite examples from MMA fights, in no particular order.

“I was under the impression that [UFC President Dana White] still kind of was on the fence whether he was going to put me in front of Rashad or not, that’s assuming Rashad wins. [White] did offer me a fight with ‘Little Nogueira.’ I didn’t think the fans would be interested in that fight, and not as much time as I would like to prepare for a five-round fight. So I told him I would wait to see what happened with the Rashad fight. I would like to fight Jones now rather than if I took that fight with ‘Little Nog,’ I wouldn’t be fighting Jones until another eight-nine months…

“[Jones] called up four days ago and said ‘okay, let’s go I’m done with vacation.’ He said he wanted to take all this time off and then they were calling me four days ago saying he wants to fight as soon as possible. He’s ready to go…What could end up happening is Dan Henderson fights Jon Jones first, and then it would be close to the time that Rashad (Evans) fights. Or we see how things go with Rashad and Rashad fights him first.”

Call us greedy, call us insensitive, but we’re the type of fans that simply must have our every fantasy fulfilled, and it is with that in mind that we ask you, our fellow fanatics, to join us in a discussion of the five fights we NEED to witness this year, if only to end a few of the never ending arguments that constitute the CP comments sections. Here are our picks…

Why?: Because if we have to hear how lucky Silva got one more time, we are going to round up all of our writers and perform a full reenactment of Death of a (Real Estate) Salesman. Goldstein will play Willy Loman, the elderly and dillusional salesman (Obvs.). CrushCo will play Biff, the former football star who yearns for a life as a farmhand, and Seth will play Happy, the slacking womanizer, leaving none other than myself to play Linda. What can I say, it sucks being the new guy.

#5 – Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami at UFC 134(Silva v. Okami, though this image could be from just about any of Silva’s fights.)

Why it had to happen: Because the first fight marked the last time Silva had lost…at anything, and even if it was by way of illegal upkick DQ, it was enough to convince some people that Okami had his number. Plus, Okami had earned his shot by this point, and we were getting pretty damned tired of debating this old issue.

How it happened: Absolute. Domination. In typical fashion, Silva toyed with Okami like he was wrestling with his 4 year old nephew, letting the audience know that the fight would end when he decided it would. A head kick that rocked Okami at the end of the first round reinforced this belief, and Silva mercifully finished him off in the second. Cut. Print. TKO.

(Torres following his unanimous decision loss to social media. / Photo via ESPN)

Update: Torres has released a statement about his release. Check it out at the bottom of this post.

Miguel Torres — former undisputed WEC bantamweight champion and die-hard fan ofrape jokes — has been released by the UFC. Dana White confirmed the firing yesterday evening, telling SI.com, “his career with us now is over.”

The reason for Torres’s release was a tweet that reportedly read, “If a rape van was called a surprise van, more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone likes surprises.” Torres later removed the tweet and replaced it with an edited version. White was informed of the tweet second-hand by Michael Landsberg and made the decision to fire Torres shortly after.

So why is Torres being made an example of, when Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans made similar off-color statements recently? Basically, it’s because he didn’t have a good enough explanation.

Got an hour to spare? Then check out the full video of yesterday’s UFC on FOX 2 press conference, which was held at the United Center in Chicago and featured all six fighters that would be headlining the show. Here are some of the highlights, most of which belonged to the Gangster From West Linn:

Chael Sonnen on his checkered past: “I actually held public office, and I left the only way a person should — in handcuffs.”

Sonnen on his illegal kneebar during a college wrestling match with Mark Munoz: “Mark’s explanation of ‘heat of the moment’, I appreciate that but I can assure you it was a calculated and premeditated event, and I offer no apology. And secondly, I don’t even remember college. I’m driving around in a car with no insurance, a pocket with no money and the biggest thing on my mind was which kid to sit next to on exam day, so as far as a wrestling match, that was about the fourth thing on my mind. I assure you on January 28th, I will be ready. It will be one more in the win column, one more above the mantle, and one more for the bad guy.”

As co-host of the Opie & Anthony radio show on SiriusXM, comedian Jim Norton has become the designated punching bag for visiting MMA stars. He’s been choked, he’s been kicked, he’s had his foot twisted 180 degrees by Brock Lesnar. And considering what a sick, depraved bastard Norton is, you have to wonder if he enjoys it on some level. Here’s everything we could collect from Jim Norton’s MMA-related body of work. All videos courtesy of opieradio.

Guest:BJ Penn, 4/14/10Technique: ArmbarIn Jim’s words: “That is fuckin’ horrible…Besides the fact that your arm is ready to be ripped out, it puts pressure on your fuckin’ — it stretches you both ways, I didn’t realize it did that.”

Unlike our previous GIF galleries, this one will not feature any shuffling or bumping bitches out of the way. Instead, we’ve got 14 examples of Lyoto Machida in the cage doing what he does best — beating his opponents to the punch and foot-sweeping them into a living death. The question is: Will any of it work against Jon Jones at UFC 140 this Saturday?

Evans is currently riding a three-fight win streak, including decisions over Thiago Silva and Quinton Jackson, and a second-round TKO of Tito Ortiz, who came in as Davis’s short-notice injury replacement. Davis has gone 5-0 in the Octagon, most recently out-pointing Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in March. You’d have to assume that if Evans manages to deal “Mr. Wonderful” his first loss, he’ll be awarded a title shot against the winner of Jones vs. Machida — but considering Suga’s run ofbad luck when it comes to that sort of thing, anything’s possible.